A round-up of the Group B matches in the WICB Regional Super 50 2016-17 played on February 5, 2017

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2017Barbados pulled off a two-wicket win over Guyana in a low-scoring match at Bridgetown’s Three Ws Oval to seal a semi-final spot in the Regional Super50. Chasing 187, Barbados’ Kevin Stoute (51) and Shai Hope (63) consolidated their chase in a 70-run second-wicket stand but Raymon Reifer’s four wickets kept Guyana in the hunt.Barbados collapsed from 119 for 2 to 180 for 8 and went into the last over needing six runs, before Carlos Brathwaite (11*) and Jomel Warrican (2*) helped them cross the target with three balls to spare. Earlier, Guyana were all out for 186 off the last ball of their innings, failing to recover from a position of 100 for 5 after Ashley Nurse’s three wickets at the top. Six Guyana batsmen scored 18 runs or more but their top score came from Veerasammy Permaul , who scored 32 at no. 9.Jamaica defended 204 against Combined Campuses & Colleges in Bridgetown courtesy a spirited bowling effort led by Nikita Miller, who took 3 for 12 from nine overs. Miller’s haul saw CCC slip from 124 for 5 to 130 for 8, before they folded on 160 to give Jamaica a 44-run win that took them to second place in Group B.Jamaica reached 204 after fifties from Jermaine Blackwood (51) and Andre McCarthy (51), and a late surge from Jerome Taylor (41). Between these knocks, CCC took regular wickets to keep Jamaica in check. They lost their first two wickets for 26 and then slipped from 109 for 2 to be bowled out in the 46th over. Offspinners Mark Deyal and Vikash Mohan took three wickets each.For CCC, their top score came from the extras conceded by Jamaica (30, of which 24 were wides). Cassius Burton (28), Amir Jangoo (24) and Mark Deyal (21) got starts but, with regular wickets falling, Jamaica completed a win in the 42nd over.

Marlon Samuels has been cleared to resume bowling in international cricket by the ICC

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-20171:29

Ambrose: Samuels is a very clever bowler

West Indies allrounder Marlon Samuels has been cleared to resume bowling in international cricket by the ICC. Samuels was banned from bowling at the international level for 12 months in December 2015, after his action was found to be illegal for a second time in 24 months.The offspinner’s action could be reassessed by the ICC only after the 12-month period ended, and Samuels underwent tests on January 29 at the ICC-accredited testing centre in Loughborough. According to an ICC release, the tests revealed the elbow flex for his offspin deliveries was within the permitted 15-degree limit.If the umpires find issues with his action going forward, they can report him again, and then he will require further analysis of his action by the ICC. Umpires will be provided with images and video footage of his reworked bowling action, the ICC said, to help them judge his action in games.Samuels was reported during the Galle Test against Sri Lanka in October 2015, and subsequent tests revealed he was breaching the 15-degree limit. That was the third time Samuels’ action had been reported; the first instance was in 2008, when he was called for a suspect faster ball after the third Test against South Africa in Durban. He was later suspended from bowling in international cricket but after remedial work on his action, was permitted to bowl in September 2011. Then, once again, he was reported during the Mumbai Test against India in November 2013. Following tests, he was allowed to bowl the offbreak delivery but not his quicker ball.Samuels last played for West Indies against Pakistan on the tour of the UAE in September-November 2016. He was left out of the squad for the tri-series in Zimbabwe that followed. West Indies’ next assignment is the home ODI series against England, starting from March 3.

In ESPNCricinfo’s poll on India’s 13-Test-long home season, the readers agreed with an expert panel on five of seven questions

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Apr-2017Ravindra Jadeja has been voted the best player of India’s home season by both ESPNCricinfo’s readers and an expert panel consisting of ESPNCricinfo staff and three former India Test cricketers, Sanjay Manjrekar, Ajit Agarkar and Aakash Chopra. Jadeja, who averaged 22.83 with the ball and 42.76 with the bat over the 13 Tests India played at home between September and March, got 65% of the 20,500-plus votes cast by readers. He fared similarly in the vote by the panel, with six out of 10 members voting for him. Cheteshwar Pujara, who got 12% of the readers’ vote, had two votes from the panel, while R Ashwin and Virat Kohli got one each.Umesh Yadav was the readers’ support act of the season•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The panel’s decision was consistent with the readers’ on five of the seven questions asked in the poll. Both chose Umesh Yadav as the best support act of the season, England’s Haseeb Hameed as debutant of the season, the second Test in the India-Australia series, in Bengaluru, as the Test of the season and Steven Smith as the visiting player of the season. Smith’s selection was emphatic – all ten of the panel members voted for him, and 92% of 17,900-plus readers who voted on the question agreed. Wriddhiman Saha and KL Rahul pushed Umesh for the title of best support act, getting 29% and 31% of the readers’ vote respectively, while Umesh got 37% (7000-plus votes). The ESPNCricinfo panel decision was not as close, with Umesh getting seven out of ten votes.Sanjay Manjrekar selected Virat Kohli as his player of the season•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Hameed edged out Kuldeep Yadav in the best debutant category in the reader vote, but it was Jayant Yadav who was closest competition in the panel’s vote, getting three votes to Hameed’s five. The Bengaluru Test and the final one of the season, in Dharamsala, were separated by less than 1000 votes in the readers’ poll, but Bengaluru won easily among our panel, with seven members picking it. Two picked Dharamsala and one went for the Test against New Zealand in Kolkata.Ajit Agarkar thought Umesh Yadav’s 3 for 29 in Dharamsala was the bowling performance of the season•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The two categories the readers and panel disagreed on were innings of the season and bowling performance of the season. The readers selected Pujara’s marathon 202 against Australia in Ranchi as the best innings, with Pujara’s 92 in the second innings in Bengaluru coming a close second. For our panel, though, Steven Smith’s 109 on a turning pitch in Pune was the best knock. Pujara’s 92 got two votes, while Virat Kohli’s innings of 235 in Mumbai and 81 in Visakhapatnam, both against England, got a vote each.Virat Kohli’s double-century in Mumbai was the innings of the season for Aakash Chopra•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Another Australia player won the panel’s vote for best bowling of the season – Nathan Lyon, for his 8 for 50 in the first innings in Bengaluru. Lyon’s performance got just 13% of the 19,500-plus votes in the reader poll. That was won by Jadeja’s 7 for 48 against England in Chennai.

Kumar Sangakkara’s classy unbeaten 124 helped Surrey to a comfortable 66-run win on Duckworth-Lewis against Hampshire at the Kia Oval after a brilliant unbeaten 145 by George Bailey had dramatically rallied the visitors

ECB Reporters Network14-May-2017
ScorecardGeorge Bailey’s brilliant 145 was to no avail•Getty Images

Kumar Sangakkara’s classy unbeaten 124 helped Surrey to a comfortable 66-run win on Duckworth-Lewis against Hampshire at the Kia Oval after a brilliant unbeaten 145 by George Bailey had dramatically rallied the visitors to 271 for 8.When rain arrived just before 6pm Surrey were in sight of a crushing conventional victory at 238 for 2 from 38 overs in reply, and well ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis target.Sangakkara added 93 at a rate of seven runs an over for the second wicket with Mark Stoneman, who made 53 off 52 balls, and then a further unbroken 128 in 22 overs with Rory Burns.Surrey claimed their fourth Royal London One-Day Cup victory of the season to stay on course for a quarter-final place while also virtually ending Hampshire’s chances of qualification from the South Group.Hampshire were seemingly down and out at 89 for 7 when 34-year-old Australian batsman Bailey was joined by former South Africa fast bowler Kyle Abbott in a record-breaking eighth wicket stand of 152 in 25 overs. They shattered the previous Hampshire List A record for the eighth wicket – the 93 added by Adrian Aymes and Shaun Udal against Middlesex at Portsmouth in 1996.Abbott made a brave 56 from 77 balls in support of the superlative Bailey, who struck two sixes and 12 fours in a 132-ball effort which ended with him plundering 22 from the final over of the innings, bowled by Ravi Rampaul.Some of Bailey’s powerful strokeplay, in the second half of his innings, was of the highest quality as he accelerated past three figures in the 44th over, while Abbott also swung the suffering Rampaul for a huge six – his last scoring shot – before being bowled by the former West Indies paceman, who ended up with figures of 4 for 61.Earlier, however, Rampaul had taken 3 for 22 in a brilliant seven-over spell from the Vauxhall End, sending back Liam Dawson, Lewis McManus and Gareth Berg in quick succession to further undermine a Hampshire innings which had initially slumped to 35 for 3 as the Curran brothers, Sam and Tom, wreaked havoc with the new ball.A brilliant left-handed diving catch by wicketkeeper Ben Foakes, inches from the turf, accounted for Rilee Rossouw for 5, off Tom Curran, and Sam Curran then saw Tom Alsop mis-hit a pull to short fine leg on 8 and James Vince lift a catch to extra cover where Burns scooped the ball up athletically as he dived forward.Vince, fresh from his 178 against Glamorgan in Hampshire’s previous match, looked in majestic form as he drove three times for four on the up through the covers but over-confidence seemed to contribute to his dismissal as much as the ball, delivered by the younger Curran from around the wicket, looking as if it had stopped a touch in the pitch.Hampshire also lost the wicket of Sean Ervine cheaply, to a catch behind off Stuart Meaker, in between Rampaul’s first two strikes – Dawson, on 17, snicking a brute of a ball to Foakes and McManus driving loosely to cover on 2. When Berg followed in Rampaul’s next over, lbw for 1 in the 24th of the innings, Hampshire’s day looked done.Perhaps Surrey captain Gareth Batty should have kept Rampaul going because he was getting consistent extra bounce around the right-hander’s off stump and was bowling with pace and venom.Against Batty’s off spin, and Scott Borthwick’s leg breaks, who between them sent down Surrey’s fifth bowler allocation, Bailey and Abbott were allowed to build their partnership carefully at first and then, when the seamers were reintroduced, with increasing confidence and style.With the ball, Abbott made an important early breakthrough by removing Jason Roy for just a single but left-handers Stoneman and Sangakkara were soon in control – with one dreamy Sangakkara cover drive for four off Berg drawing gasps of admiration from a good-sized crowd enjoying both the spectacle and the south London sunshine.Both reached their half-centuries in the same over – Stoneman off 48 balls, and Sangakkara off only 32 – and fast bowler Fidel Edwards had taken some heavy punishment by the time he had Stoneman caught at the wicket in the 16th over.Then, Sangakkara was joined by Burns in the partnership which clinched the win. At the end Sangakkara had faced 121 balls, hitting 13 fours and two sixes – the first straight off Edwards and second pulled dismissively off Berg.

Steven Smith insisted there were no excuses for his side’s unsuccessful campaign

Melinda Farrell at Edgbaston10-Jun-2017It was a disappointing finish to a frustrating tournament for Australia but, after a 40-run loss to England in yet another rain-interrupted match, Steven Smith insisted there were no excuses for his side’s unsuccessful campaign.After washouts against New Zealand and Bangladesh, Australia’s destiny was in their own hands in their final group match with a win ensuring they would progress to the semi-finals and, while late rain curtailed the match, by then England had comprehensively outplayed an Australian side which collapsed in the final overs with the bat and then wilted in the glare of a Ben Stokes and Eoin Morgan onslaught.Australia failed to capitalise on a decent start in which they added 136 runs for the loss of just one wicket but Smith and Aaron Finch were unable to convert half-centuries into big scores and Travis Head, who made a doughty 71, was left stranded as the middle- and lower-order crumbled around him.”I thought we let ourselves down a little bit today,” said Smith. “We got ourselves in a pretty good position early with the bat, probably 2 for 150, or wherever we were there.”We kept losing wickets through the middle, and someone in the top four probably needed to go on and make a hundred. We weren’t able to do that.”We lost 5 for 15 at one point as well, which you can’t afford to do against an opposition like England.””I thought we started reasonably well with the ball. To get three early wickets was quite crucial, and then it seemed like there was a bit of a momentum shift after that rain delay.”You know, Stokesy and Morgy came out and played very positively. We were off a bit with the way we were bowling. We gave them a lot of freebies, but they did play exceptionally well.”Australia’s bowlers weren’t helped by lapses in the field, most notably when Morgan, on 12, was dropped by Matthew Wade after miscuing a pull off the bowling of Josh Hazlewood. It was a pivotal point in the innings – Morgan went on to make 73 and his 159-run partnership with Stokes broke the back of England’s successful chase.”It certainly hurt,” said Smith. “After that, Morgy got going and played particularly well. So could have had them 4 for 30-odd or wherever we were there, and Jos [Buttler] in with a reasonably new ball, which he’s probably not used to that much. So, yeah, it probably hurt a little bit.”Australia’s batsmen, in particular, were deprived of match time thanks to the previous two washouts but Smith insisted their preparation should have been sufficient.”You say that we only had one hit, but that should be good enough for the players that we’ve got on our team,” Smith said. “You know, we’ve got some good players in our line-up. We just weren’t able to get those partnerships together today and get ourselves a score up over 300.”Australia’s campaign has been carried out under a cloud of off-field uncertainty, with the Australian Cricketers’ Association and Cricket Australia at loggerheads over a new Memorandum of Understanding. The current MoU runs out at the end of June and there is a danger that, if a new deal isn’t struck, the players will, effectively, be unemployed. But Smith remains confident that Australia’s tour of Bangladesh will go ahead as scheduled in September and refused to use the ongoing dispute as an excuse for Australia’s early exit from the tournament.”When you’re playing in a big tournament for your country, you need to step up and get the job done,” said Smith. “We weren’t able to do that on this occasion, unfortunately.”We had some frustrating games throughout and just haven’t been able to find any momentum, I guess. And today, yeah, it was disappointing.”

Tendai Chatara’s third five-wicket haul in List A matches ensured Netherlands were skittled out for 142, a total that Zimbabwe had no trouble chasing

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jun-2017Zimbabwe 144 for 4 (Ervine 44) beat Netherlands 142 (van Beek 64*, Chatara 5-34, Mpofu 3-30) by six wickets
ScorecardFile photo – Tendai Chatara removed five of the top six Netherlands batsmen•AFP

Zimbabwe eased to a six-wicket win in Amstelveen after their pacers, led by Tendai Chatara who took his third List A five-wicket haul, skittled Netherlands out for 142 in under 38 overs. That total looked rather unlikely when Chatara and Chris Mpofu – who finished with three wickets – had Netherlands reeling at 40 for 8, but an unbeaten 64 from Logan van Beek saved the hosts some blushes. Still, Zimbabwe got to their target with 19.4 overs to spare as Craig Ervine top-scored with 44.Netherlands openers Wesley Barresi and Stephan Myburgh were the first to go, falling in Chatara’s second and third overs respectively. The score was 22 for 2 then but four overs and six runs later, Chatara struck again, this time twice in two balls to send back both Michael Rippon and Roelof van der for ducks. When Mpofu took out Ben Cooper for 6, Netherlands had lost five batsmen inside 10 overs, and had to wait till the ninth-wicket pair for some semblance of a partnership. Van Beek combined with No. 10 Timm van der Gugten (34) to put on 86 runs to delay the inevitable and remained unbeaten on 64 off 83 balls with six fours and one six.

Chelmsford is the birthplace of artists and magicians. Simon Harmer, making a home for himself there, could be both after another extraordinary display stretched Essex’s lead to 29 points

Paul Edwards at Chelmsford29-Jun-2017
ScorecardChelmsford is the birthplace of the artist Grayson Perry and was also the town where the 16th century magician, John Dee, was educated. It is therefore well-used to astonishing transformations. However, whether credulous or sceptical, residents will have seen little to compare with the latter stages of this match, when Simon Harmer engraved his name in folk memory of Essex cricket-lovers on one the greatest day’s sport seen on this ground.In November 2015 Harmer was playing for South Africa in a Test match at Nagpur. Since then he has seen his stock fall in his home country and in the winter he committed himself to a career as a county cricketer with Essex.Last week he took 14 wickets against Warwickshire and on this wonderful last day against the champions he collected a career-best 9 for 95 finishing the match with figures of 14-172. By doing so he sent a thousand or so hardy souls at the County Ground into floodlit ecstasy, for they had seen their side complete their third victory in succession and this with a maximum of eight balls remaining in the game.When they descend from their rare euphoria, Essex supporters may realise that their team is now 29 points clear at the top of the Division One table. What they will also understand is that they have witnessed a victory the unlikelihood of which made it all the more worthy of celebration.With six overs left to be bowled Essex still needed four wickets and doubts began to creep in among spectators, even if the hesitancy of the later Middlesex batsmen encouraged hope among Ryan ten Doeschate’s players. That belief was fuelled by the fact that the pink Duke’s ball was retaining its bounce more than the red variety, a fact which the 6ft 2ins Harmer had been able to exploit throughout the match. And the problems of the Middlesex batsmen were increased by Harmer’s ability to use the footholes left by Mohammed Amir and Paul Walter. For all that time was running out, one never felt that Dawid Malan’s batsmen were comfortable. Certainly they never looked like clearing the 296-run deficit established by Essex’s dynamic batting on the third day of this game.In the 108th over of the innings Ryan Higgins played inside what looked like an arm ball and was caught at slip by Alastair Cook, for whom this match was the pleasantest of temporary farewells before the Test series. Three balls later Ollie Rayner collected a pair when he was leg before on the front foot. Harmer had now taken all eight wickets to fall in the innings but his chances of taking all ten disappeared three overs later when Dan Lawrence trapped Toby Roland-Jones lbw for a single although there was a case the ball pitched outside leg. Nobody minded, least of all Harmer who brushed away Lawrence apologies in the joy of shared achievement. Three balls of Harmer’s subsequent over passed and it seemed clear that Lawrence or possibly Amir would be bowling the last over of the game.Simon Harmer wheels away with his Essex team-mates after his match-sealing wicket•Getty Images

That over was never delivered. Perhaps scared of commitment, Steven Finn plunged forward but played no shot to Harmer’s third last ball of the game. An appeal followed that could be heard in either of the Baddows. There was a raised finger from David Millns. Harmer began the first Essex bowler since Mark Ilott in 1995 to take nine wickets in an innings and ten Doeschate’s men are hot favourites for the title now. This will be Harmer’s match but so was last week’s.”It’s not going to get too much better than this,” said Harmer. “You just need to ride the wave – they don’t come around that often. We will enjoy tonight and have a few beers. It’s an incredible win for the club. It puts us in phenomenal position going into the last six games of the season. We’ve done a lot of hard work, a lot of hard graft and been on top of our game. We’ve come out on top in the last 10 minutes of the day today. These are the moments you play cricket for. It makes all the hard graft worth it.”And yet it takes two teams to make a contest as noble as this one and in the joy of Harmer’s achievement, even the Essex supporters spared applause for Nick Compton, whose innings of 120 looked likely to frustrate Essex. And the Middlesex opener’s tale shares a very rough parallel with that of Harmer.Just over a year ago Compton’s name was blazoned in headlines. He was an England batsman. Yet within a few weeks some who had advocated his selection were vehement that he should never have been picked in the first place. No one, of course, has mentioned his name in connection with the England side for next week’s Test at Lord’s. Yet as we watched Compton make his century and bat in vain to save the game it was plain that he still retains the skill to play this game at a high level and the temperament to defy opponents in full cry.Harmer v Compton. Given a couple of different turns on the wheels of fortune and circumstance, it was a battle which might have been seen in next week’s Test match. And on the evidence of this quite wonderful last day at Chelmsford it would not have disgraced the stage at St John’s Wood.Compton arrived at New Writtle Street having scored 81 championship runs in four innings; injury and indifferent form have kept him out of the Middlesex team. Those factors by themselves were enough to make his effort at Chelmsford admirable. Yet the virtues of his batting were magnified by the intensity of the contest and the fact that his principal adversary, Harmer, is in the form of his life.So much was proved in the first half hour of play when Harmer dismissed Nick Gubbins, Stevie Eskinazi and Dawid Malan in five overs from the River End, reducing Middlesex to 51 for 3 and encouraging the hopes of home supporters that they were about to see ten Doeschate’s team achieve a facile innings victory and their fifth Division One triumph of the season.Yet this early clatter was misleading; instead of offering a strong clue to the narrative of the day, it merely set up the terrific duel of Thursday’s cricket: Both our principals had considerable help, of course. The main assistance to Harmer probably came from Dan Lawrence, whose high action gave his off-spinners every chance to bounce uncomfortably.Nick Compton dug in to defy the home attack•Getty Images

Compton was assisted deep into the heart of the day and beyond by Paul Stirling, who batted with commendable coolness and against his attacking instincts to make 55 in 202 minutes. While Compton and Stirling were adding 153 in 55 overs the five points for a draw were plainly secure. Then, five minutes before tea, Stirling, who had been dropped three times, was safely caught by Ravi Bopara at backward short leg. John Simpson resisted for 50 minutes but was beaten by Harmer’s turn and taken by Cook. Then Compton having faced 303 balls, 59 more than in his entire season before this innings, was leg before playing no shot to Harmer. The door was open and the Essex cricketers plunged through it. “Harmer’s a proper bowler,” said Essex’s Keith Fletcher, who faced a few and has seen countless more. No one anywhere in Essex doubts that judgement this glorious June evening.

The coach also has outlined another goal for the team: keep excelling in Test cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Aug-2017India’s coach Ravi Shastri has prioritised fitness, and wants his side to be the “best fielding XI” at the 2019 World Cup. Shastri’s comments echoed those of India’s chairman of selectors MSK Prasad who, while naming the squad for the upcoming limited-overs series in Sri Lanka, stressed fitness would be the key parameter while picking the World Cup squad.”When the time comes for India to field a side for the 2019 50-over World Cup, we should have the best fielding XI in the world walking out,” Shastri told the . “Only the fittest of the lot will survive and thrive going forward and that’s right up there in the list of priorities.”India’s 3-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka in the recently concluded Test series was Shastri’s first assignment as coach since taking over the role from Anil Kumble. While admitting that the World Cup would be the focus going forward, he also outlined another goal for the team: keep excelling in Test cricket. Since the rain-affected one-off Test in Fatullah in 2015, India have won eight consecutive series and are only one short of equalling the world record.”The World Cup has its own space that needs to be respected. And while that remains the goal, a fact also remains that if India need to show their real might in the game, then achieving results in Test cricket is the pinnacle,” Shastri said.”Now, these are two different sets of goals altogether. Both need to be pursued with equal amount of zeal and yet, both require a completely different level of preparation. Look at countries like England and Australia and how they perceive the game. Playing top-notch Test cricket and excelling in it is what they want to do. World Cups keep coming every four years and of course, we all understand its importance from a global and fan perspective. But if this team really has to be tested, then it’s Test cricket and we have plenty of it coming up next year.”India’s most recent series win in Sri Lanka was their first clean sweep away from home in a series of three Tests or more. Shastri put that down to discipline and said that he was pleased with the effort from the team.”A disciplined approach is what counts,” he said. “For instance, look at this series. Barring the two no-balls in the second Test from Hardik and one in the third game from Shami, we’ve not faltered. How many catches did we drop? Two? Going forward, that is what we need to avoid altogether. It’s the effort that counts. If we have to look at the bigger picture, we’re taking away more than what the scorecard will convey.”

Michael Carberry has signed a two-year deal with Leicestershire, while Clint McKay has been released as overseas player after three seasons at the club

George Dobell22-Sep-2017Michael Carberry has signed a two-year deal with Leicestershire.Carberry, the former England opener, joined the club from Hampshire on loan in August, with a brief return to the Hampshire side on T20 Finals Day.While he has not enjoyed an especially prolific start to life with Leicestershire – he has scored 42 runs in six innings with five single-figures scores and a high of 18 – he is seen as the experienced figure the side requires at the top of the order as they once again seek to rebuild after a disappointing season.”We have been looking to add an experienced opener to our squad and Michael fits the bill for us,” Wasim Khan, the Leicestershire chief executive, said. “Michael’s first-class record speaks for itself and this, coupled with his international experience and hunger to perform, will add significant value to the development of our younger players both on and off the field. It is great to have Michael with us for the next two seasons.”Carberry, who will be 37 at the end of this month, is far from the first experienced player signed by Leicestershire in recent times. The likes of Mark Pettini, Neil Dexter, Mark Cosgrove, Paul Horton, Colin Ackerman and Arun Harinath (on loan) have also featured in the Leicestershire top-order this season. All of which raises questions about how much opportunity is actually available to those younger players.The move brings to an end a Hampshire career that stretches back to 2006. During that time the club won four trophies – two in List A cricket, two in T20 – with Carberry featuring prominently.He also won England caps in all three formats during that period, most memorably opening on the Ashes tour of 2013-14 when he stood up to the hostility of Mitchell Johnson as well as anyone. He has previously had spells at Kent and Surrey and missed the second half of the 2016 season as he received treatment for cancer.”Michael has been an outstanding professional for Hampshire,” Hampshire’s director of cricket, Giles White, said. “He has been an integral part of many successful campaigns and has always been a very popular figure at the club. We all wish him well with the exciting challenge at Leicestershire and look forward to seeing him back at the Ageas Bowl in the future.”Leicestershire have also announced that Clint McKay will not be returning as overseas player in 2017. He has spent the last three seasons with the club but will finish 2017 supporting the coaching staff as Leicestershire look to the future. He claimed 136 first-class wickets for the club at an average of 25.79 apiece, including a best of 6 for 54 against Kent in 2015. He also contributed 1,099 first-class runs at an average of 21.54.”Clint has been a model overseas player and has made a brilliant contribution both on and off the field,” Wasim Khan said. “On behalf of the club, I’d like to thank Clint for all of his efforts and endeavours.”

The new Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati will host its first international match, with India up 1-0 in the three-match T20I series

The Preview by Alagappan Muthu09-Oct-20171:38

Agarkar: Can’t see how Nehra can get a chance

Big picture

It is as it never was. But in recent times, and especially in the subcontinent, as it always was. Australia are in danger of losing a series well before its end and their players, by their own admission, seem no closer to solving the issues plaguing them. The remarkable thing is that in each of their matches, including the T20I in Ranchi where they were 49 for 1 after the Powerplay, their initial position was one of considerable strength.Virat Kohli, after scalping the rain-hit first T20I, expressed surprise at having to work hard to chase 48 runs in six overs when his bowlers had kept the opposition to 118 in 18.4. If Australia’s middle order had batted more carefully, the DLS equation might have asked more of India, who like to build in the early part of their batting innings.Such thoughts can be frustrating just as easily as they can be comforting. “We’re just one step away, lads” David Warner might say to his troops at their team meeting in Guwahati. “Tell us what we need to do, skip,” they might reply. “If I knew that, we wouldn’t be losing, would we?” That line has been used more than once in the time the Australians have been in India. Mostly in jest, but perhaps also to prevent airing their weaknesses to the global community, which often tends to include opposition batsmen, bowlers, captains and coaches.India, on the other hand, have dominated all departments. Their newer players have accepted important roles and thrived. While that is cause for celebration, a lot of their success recently has come at home and Kohli himself said, after the Bangalore ODI, that they can’t consider themselves world beaters until they do just as well abroad.

Form guide

India: WWLWW
Australia: LWLLWMarcus Stoinis celebrates after getting Rohit Sharma’s wicket•Associated Press

In the spotlight

If there is one Australian cricketer who has enhanced his reputation during the course of this tour, it is Marcus Stoinis. He looked out of place against spin in the first ODI, but since then has handled the threat quite competently. That he bowled an average of seven overs per game in the ODI series was a sign of his improvement as an allrounder. He was unable to play the Ranchi game, despite being named as a replacement for the injured Steven Smith, because he was back home at the time. But he has joined the squad now and is all but certain to play in Guwahati.He wasn’t at the crease for a long time in Ranchi, but after a little layoff Shikhar Dhawan would have enjoyed it nonetheless. Of course, he would have preferred the opportunity to face more than 12 balls and that may well come his way on Tuesday, with the series on the line.

Team news

India don’t really have much cause to fiddle with their team, unless there are last-minute injuries or thoughts of experimentation.India (probable) 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Manish Pandey, 5 Kedar Jadhav, 6 MS Dhoni (wk), 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Kuldeep Yadav, 9 Yuzvendra Chahal, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Jasprit BumrahGlenn Maxwell, as explosive as he is, hasn’t been solid enough to make that matter. He was dropped in the ODI series for that mistake and he may well suffer the same now.Australia (probable) 1 David Warner (capt), 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Travis Head, 4 Moises Henriques/Glenn Maxwell, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Dan Christian, 7 Tim Paine (wk), 8 Nathan Coulter-Nile, 9 Adam Zampa/ Andrew Tye, 10 Kane Richardson, 11 Jason Behrendorff

Pitch and conditions

The new Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati will host its first international match, although the city has already hosted international cricket before – from as early as 1983.

Stats and trivia

• Kohli averages 54 in T20Is, and if he lives up to those numbers, he will comfortably pass Tillakaratne Dilshan and become the second-highest scorer in the format in international cricket.
• Since the last of his 12 fifties for Australia in March 2016, Warner averages 16.5 with four single-digit scores in eight innings.

Quotes

“It’s a nice ground, the wicket looks fantastic. The first game being played here; it’s going to be a special one for both teams. Hopefully we can get across the line and get that first victory here.”